"I think it's time for me, the sleeping giant, to awaken and to go back out there on the field and play football again," Haynesworth said Thursday.
What does the sleeping giant do?
"Dominate," Haynesworth said. "You can write that."
Haynesworth feels like this is his first chance to display his dominance since he played for Tennessee in 2008. Those two years in Washington made him an incredibly rich man, but he didn't earn those paychecks. He knows that, too, because he felt like the Redskins sucked the life out of him and forced him into hibernation.
"For two years, I was kind of taken out of football a little bit," Haynesworth said. "Now, I'm back in it, and I'm truly enjoying the game again. I'm truly enjoying coming into practice or coming in to work every day. Just to be able to have a chance again to play and show what I can do is awesome."
Haynesworth loves the locker room, the leadership, the system, his role and responsibilities. He's been in a great mood since joining the team, and his personality — at least around the media — has been humorous and engaging. As far as his playing shape, Haynesworth said the coaching staff has told him he's improved since the day he arrived.
He admitted he's still shaking off some rust, but he noted that he's got nine seasons — before correcting himself to say seven seasons, removing the two with the Redskins, of course — to prepare for his true Patriots debut. It's nothing like 2010 when he wasn't sure if he'd make his debut for Mike Shanahan because he was on the scout team.
On a similar note, Haynesworth sounded like he regretted his display in Washington because his lack of trust in the organization caused him to act like a different person.
"I just don't think that was me," Haynesworth said. "I never had any problems at Tennessee, and just with the stuff around there, I don't know. I'm not saying that I did most of the stuff they said, but just being in that situation sucked."
Now that he likes his employer, he enjoys hearing the sound of his alarm clock.
"If you ever go to work hating your job, you're not going to perform at your best," Haynesworth said. "But if you enjoy coming to work, and if you enjoy being around the people that you work with, you give it your all."
